


Counting Drinks

by Sandmans_Raven



Category: X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Blues and Bourbon, F/M, Rogue/Gambit Week 2020, romybingo2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27430510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandmans_Raven/pseuds/Sandmans_Raven
Summary: It's a hot one at Gus's Saloon.
Relationships: Remy LeBeau/Rogue
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	Counting Drinks

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the prompt, "Blues and Bourbon" for the Rogue/Gambit Week 2020 Bingo card. Set between the events of Mr. and Mrs. X and HoX/PoX.

The hot, summer air made almost every glass sweat with condensation that night. All but Remy’s. He sipped down his third bourbon as a blues singer that deserved better than Gus’s Saloon belted out a sad melody. Remy flipped a locket open and shut as he listened, as if playing peekaboo with it. The locket itself was a cheap hunk of steel, but the picture inside was irreplaceable.

A man and woman pushed through the front door, bringing with them a junebug or two, and made their way to the stools next to Remy. The man had his arm around the woman, his silver Rolex glittering in the reds and blues of the stage lights. The watch caught Remy’s eye first, then the woman. 

The bartender walked over from the back and motioned to them instead of trying to yell over the speakers.

The man held up a pair of fingers. “Two vodka-tonics.”

The bartender nodded and walked back to grab a pair of glasses. The man whispered something in the woman’s ear and then disappeared around the corner towards the kitchens, winking at the bartender while she prepared their drinks.

The woman watched this, a glimmer of disgust in her eyes, before she turned her attention to Remy. She eyed the empty glasses and the locket next to them. “Rough night?”

He grinned and slid the locket back into his jacket. “Night’s just beginning, cherie.”

“Maybe you need to slow down, then,” she said. Her tone was judgmental, but her smile was playful.

Remy motioned for the stool next to him. “Maybe you need to catch up.”

The woman glanced in the direction of where her date had disappeared and then took a seat on the stool. The bartender returned with the drinks and the woman paid in cash, leaving a couple of extra dollars for the bartender.

“Well, what are we drinking to?” the woman asked. She held her glass up and stared at Remy with piercing blue eyes. “Old loves?”

Remy raised his glass and winked. “How about new loves?”

Their glasses clinked and they drank, Remy finishing off his bourbon.

“So, who do I have the pleasure of drinking with tonight?” he asked.

The woman smiled for a moment. “Katrina.”

“Remy.”

Katrina turned towards him and crossed her legs as if daring him to break eye-contact to look at them. “So, whose picture is in that locket, Remy?”

His smile faltered. “A woman who deserves better than a swamp rat like me.”

“Oh, I find that hard to believe,” she said, leaning in closer. Even through the fog of booze and cigarettes that filled the bar, Remy could smell her perfume. “So why aren’t you out there sowing your wild oats? I’d think a guy like you would have no problem finding some action in this town.”

Before Remy could respond, the bartender came over and took away his empty glasses. She looked at him with a cocked eyebrow and asked, “Another?”

“Oui,” Remy replied.

On the stage, a song came to its end as the guitar faded out into a brief moment of silence. Then the audience applauded, some even whistling. The singer thanked them and went into a story about their next song. Her voice, even when speaking, was a smooth hum of power that demanded everyone’s attention. It was as if she couldn’t help but sing.

As the next song began, Remy returned to Katrina. “Where were we?”

Katrina rested a hand on his knee, her red nails gently scratching against his pants. Her glass was now empty and she had a fire in her eyes. “Wild oats, I believe.”

Remy eyed the other vodka-tonic that the woman’s friend ordered. The ice had melted into the rest of the drink and a pool formed around the base of the glass where the condensation ran down to gather. “Where’s your friend? D’you think he’d approve of the two of us gettin’ this close?”

“Silas is in the back with the owner.” She picked up his glass and began to drink from it. “They’ve got business together and I don’t expect he’ll be back soon.”

“Oh, he knows Gus, eh?”

“In a sense.” She retracted her hand and raised her chin with pride. “You’re actually looking at the new co-owner of ‘Gus’s”. Of course, it won’t be ‘Gus’s’ much longer.”

“That so?” Remy said. “Guess I know who to talk to about gettin’ some free drinks then, huh?”

Katrina laughed at that. “Well, nothing’s free, darlin’.”

Remy looked down to the bar, where he began to scratch at the wood. “Ain’t that the truth.”

When he looked up, Katrina’s face was just inches from his own. She leaned in to kiss him, but before their lips could connect, they were interrupted by the crashing of glass. They both jumped and looked over to the bartender who had dropped a tumbler on the floor.

“Ah--I’m sorry, sir,” the bartender said, quickly sweeping up the glass and mopping what little was left of the bourbon. “That was the last of the Brickway. I’ll have to go into the back to get another bottle.”

Once she was finished, she discarded the shards and disappeared around the corner to the kitchens. 

Katrina shook her head as they watched her leave. “Looks like I know who we’ll be getting rid of first.”

“Sure is hard to find good help around here.” Remy frowned and then turned back to Katrina. “So, what do you plan on doing to the place when you’re in control?”

Katrina’s eyes scanned across the bar, from the crowd to the stage. There weren’t more than 30 people in the place, sitting at tables with chairs that didn’t match and in booths that begged to be reupholstered. Neon signs glowed, advertising beer brands that didn’t even exist anymore or had changed their design decades ago. The blues band on the stage looked like they could fall through the plywood stage at any moment, but by some miracle they remained.

“Silas and I are going to gut this place,” she said. “Everything is so tacky. I want to take out the tables and redo the dance floor, fill the sides with more booths.” She gestured around the perimeter of the bar and then to the stage. “No more of this music, either. Silas knows a guy who can come DJ for us every weekend so we can turn this place into a proper club.”

Remy cringed inwardly but stifled a more physical response. “Sounds like you’ve got quite the vision.”

Shrugging, Katrina bit her lip. “Maybe you can come visit my office when I get that remodeled. I could always use an extra pair of hands.”

“I might be able to help with that,” Remy said. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes along with a Zippo. He offered one to Katrina and lit it for her. “So, this Silas, I think I’ve heard his name 'round here before.”

Katrina took a drag of her cigarette and let out the smoke slowly. “I won’t lie, you've probably only heard bad things. Just a week ago I saw him use a cigar cutter to chop off a man’s index fingers.”

“Why’d he do that?”

Katrina shrugged. “The guy owed him money or something.”

“That so? I hope he wasn’t a guitar player.” Remy ashed his cigarette. “What do you think he’s got planned for ol’ Gus?”

“Nothing compared to what I want to do to you.”

Remy smiled. “I don’t know who I should be more scared of.”

Katrina stared at him for a moment, ready to say something else, before her gaze wandered past him to the back of the bar, where it stayed, transfixed. Remy turned around to see the bartender holding a bottle in one hand and Silas by his collar in the other. Silas’s right eye was red and slowly turning purple.

Seeing this, Katrina shouldered her purse and stood to leave.

Remy grabbed her wrist. “Where you off to, petite? The night’s just gettin’ interesting.”

“Let go of me,” she sneered. As she tried to pull free from his grasp, she knocked her glass to the floor, causing it to shatter. The music cut to a stop and everyone in the crowd turned to look at the scene at the bar.

Remy’s grasp remained firm. “Now that’s no way for the new owner to treat a patron.”

Rogue set the bourbon down and walked over to Remy. “Maybe we take this outside, sugah.”

Gus waddled out from his office, then. He was a portly man with a grand mustache that still couldn’t hide the wide smile he wore to calm his patrons. “It’s okay, folks,” he said, his hands up in the air. “Just had a little trouble with some thugs. Nothing to worry about. Go on back about your night.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the band started back up while Gus ushered Remy and Rogue outside along with Katrina and Silas. There were civilians outside smoking and bar-crawling, but they quickly disbanded when they saw the group coming down the steps.

“Sorry for causing a scene,” Rogue said when they got to the curb. Already, a pair of police cars and an ambulance were rounding the corner, headed for Gus’s.

“Are you kidding?” Gus said. “You guys saved my bar. If anything, I think your ‘scene’ will spread word so no more B-List mobsters try to bother me.”

Rogue looked at Silas, whose eye was now a deep maroon. “C-List, at best.”

Gus pulled a recorder from his back pocket and wiggled it in the air like it was a piece of candy. “Regardless, I just need to get this to my lawyer and no one will be hearing from these two for a while.”

The police pulled to the curb and proceeded to handcuff Katrina while the paramedics looked at Silas’s eye. In one last ditch effort, Katrina leaned towards Remy, her arms strained behind her, and said, “We can work something out, Remy. Just you and me. Get me out of these cuffs and…”

“Sorry, chere,” Remy said, putting his hand up. “Can’t have you causing trouble at one of my favorite bars.”

She spat at him as an officer helped her into the back of a cruiser. “Fine. No wonder your lady left a gutless snake like you.”

On cue, he put his arm around Rogue and pecked her on the cheek. “‘Fraid that was a lie, cherie.”

Katrina tried to say something, but her words were cut off by the slamming of the cruiser’s door. 

As they watched the cruiser depart, Rogue mumbled, “Ah’ll let you keep your arm for the theatrics of putting chicken-legs in her place, but don’t think Ah forgot about that almost-kiss.”

Remy squeezed her shoulder. “You know I wasn’t going to kiss her. I was just trying to buy time so you could get back to Gus’s office without her alerting her beau.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rogue said, rolling her eyes. “Next time, you bartend and Ah get to flirt in front of you.”

As the cars and the ambulance pulled away, Remy and Rogue started down the street. They hadn’t made it a few steps before Gus ran out in front of them. 

“Hey, wait a second,” he said and handed them the bottle of bourbon. “I know you won’t take my money, but at least take this” He shrugged. “For your troubles.”

“Wait who said we wouldn’t take…”

Rogue slapped her hand against Remy’s mouth and accepted the bottle. “Thanks, Gus. We’ll see you next weekend.”

With a nod, they left and continued down the sidewalk. The air began to cool and the sky was growing cloudy, blocking all but a half-moon that dipped in and out of a sea of grey and orange. With the police gone, the bar-goers resumed their crawl, making their way from pub to bar to local watering hole.

“Well, what now?” Remy asked. He still hadn’t taken his arm off of Rogue and she hadn’t pulled it away.

“What time is it?”

Remy pulled back the sleeve of his jacket to reveal Silas’s Rolex on his wrist. “A little after 11. How ‘bout a night-cap? I could use a real drink other than that tea you were pourin' for me.”

“Sounds like a date,” Rogue said and then handed the bottle to Remy. “But can I make a request?”

“Anything, chere.”

“I’m not in the mood for bourbon,” she said. “How about wine?”


End file.
